Police officers lay siege on ZimLive editor’s home

A number of police officers in Bulawayo on Friday, 27 May 2022 reportedly visited the home of ZimLive Editor, Mduduzi Mathuthu for as yet unknown reasons. 

MISA Zimbabwe immediately deployed lawyer, Nqobani Sithole, to attend to Mathuthu.

Mathuthu was not at home at the time and the police reportedly ordered that he should present himself at the Law and Order Section of the police.

Sithole presented himself at the Law and Order Section on Mathuthu’s behalf.  At the time of the writing of this alert, the police were yet to inform him on what charges, if any, they wanted to lay on Mathuthu.

Sithole said the police action was tantamount to abusing Mathuthu’s family.

“We are worried about that,” he said. “At all material times, this guy (Mathuthu) has been available and no charges have ever been laid against him.”

In 2020, Mathuthu’s nephew, Tawanda Muchehiwa, was allegedly abducted and tortured. At that time his whereabouts had been unknown following his arrest which prompted an urgent habeas corpus application by his lawyer, Sithole.

Following the court application, High Court judge Justice Makonese ordered the police to investigate his whereabouts. Muchehiwa was only found after being dropped off at his place of residence.

His other relatives were also arrested at the time.

This came after police officers had on 30 July 2020 raided and ransacked Mathuthu’s home reportedly looking for information on subversive materials linked to the 31 July 2020 protests.

More to follow…